Argen the Gull

by Franklin Russell 

     There is not a single word of dialog in this book. Yet it is overwhelmingly full of sound- the birds scream, gurgle, choke, mutter and mew at each other. They communicate even more strongly with gestures- stretching tall to threaten, hunching down submissively, flattening their feathers in fear. Frequently launching outright attacks with stabbing beaks and flailing wings. Especially the protagonist, a herring gull named Argen who lives mostly around an estuary on the edge of an unnamed ocean. After his short period as a nestling dependent on his parents, and a few years spent exploring the area while learning how to find various food sources, he asserted himself against the other gulls with such an aggressive drive to gain food and live, that he was often described as being full of rage against the other birds. This story is not at all a pretty picture of nature. The gulls are scavengers and hunters- they squabble and steal from each other, smash shellfish, grab herring and smelt from the sea, pull apart carcasses found on shore (the aftermath of storms was a time of plenty for a seagull) and even pillage eggs and hatchlings from rookeries- including their own- in times of hunger. Any opportunity was taken. 

I thought the narrative- all from the viewpoint of one gull as he grows, learns from experience and observation driven by instinct, and makes his way through the world- would have a lot about raising the young, that his strong demeanor would soften when he fed his own chicks- but actually that's just a brief thing- it describes the urge he feels to find a mate, return to the offshore island when they breed, and the ceaseless to-and-fro bringing food to the offspring, but not any tender feelings for them. Well, I should have expected that by the time I got so far. Not all his breeding years are successful- sometimes other birds kill his young, or the weather is too cold, and once there is a famine. But there are many good years, and with three different partners he has through his long life, Argen raises many young gulls successfully. 

Overwhelmingly through this book is the power and sensation of the elements, the huge forces that sweep across the shores- changes in weather and currents that affect all the living things in a cascading effect. The swarms of other seabirds, fishes, shrimps and myriad tiny things in the surf and across the sand wax and wane. Argen witnesses a whale being killed by ocras one time, sees ducks dragged down by seals, evades hawks, eagles and falcons, and one year survives an injury to his wing that sends him creeping through the marsh to hide- a strange environment for him. I honestly though at some point I was going to start finding this account a bit tiresome- but at the end of each chapter I would turn another page and keep on reading- wrapped into the tides, the pushing winds, the blinding sun rising over the edge of the winking water. It's pretty incredible how well the author conveys the powerful forces of nature, with the life of one relatively small but definitely fierce creature thriving in it- until finally he reaches old age (for a bird) and time stretches differently, things that once filled him with passion simply don't anymore, and things wind to an end. It was very moving.

Rating: 4/5                      240 pages, 1964